Computers In Agriculture Topic Of Ag Progress Days County Agent

August 12, 1985|by THOMAS BECKER And DAVID DUNBAR, Lehigh County Extension Service

Pennsylvanians who plan to attend the 1985 Ag Progress Days on Aug. 20-22 at Rock Springs Research Farm will see computers at the forefront of Pennsylvania agriculture. This year's theme, "Growing With Computers," will involve special computer exhibits from many departments in the College of Agriculture at Pennsylvania State University.

Why this theme? According to John Skelly, Penn State department head of Plant Pathology, computers represent a modern technology for a growing number of today's farmers. Many farmers use the computer as a major tool in farm business management, environmental control and disease prediction.

Among the many College's computerized displays at Ag Progress Days will be the following:

- The extension's speedy electronic mail delivery system.

- Insect management from an "Extension Office in the future."

- The extension's computerized answering service from its Plant Disease Clinic.

- A soil information center from the Department of Agronomy that will demonstrate techniques in infrared forage analysis.

- A computerized animal evaluation system that uses ultrasonics to measure lean and fat in live animals will be displayed by the Department of Dairy and Animal Science.

All these and many other "on" and "off" the farm uses for the computer will be on display 9 a.m.-5 p.m. each day.

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1985 KUTZTOWN FAIR

The 114th Annual Kutztown Fair will have the following events this week:

Lehigh County 4-H club members will hold their 1985 Round-Up on Saturday at two different locations. Horse club members will meet at 9:30 a.m. at Our Goal Farm, New Tripoli R.2, about one mile south of Route 309. Other 4-H members will meet at Neffs Church Grove at 9:30 a.m. to display their completed 1985 projects for judging.

Scheduled for the 4-H Horse Round-Up are the following events: After grooming and showmanship classes, horse members will ride their horses in approximately 30 performance classes. Riders will be evaluated in equitation classes and horses will be placed in pleasure classes. There will also be tied "gave" classes. Riding styles will include hunt seat, saddle seat and stock seat. First and second place winners will become eligible to participate in a regional show at Wrightstown, Bucks County, Aug. 24.

This year's Neffs Church Grove Round-Up includes a carnival, bike rodeo and a seeing eye puppy demonstration. 4-H members will have each project judged on set standards for project completion. Ribbon awards will be presented.

The public is invited to attend. Come out and join in the fun and see what 4-H is all about.

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FEWER CHEMICALS

Pesticide research over the last ten years has encouraged farmers to spray selectively and only when necessary.

Current research and integrated pest management systems are helping farmers avoid excessive chemical applications. Many are using information to monitor pest levels in their fields for spraying instead of using predetermined spray schedules.

Integrated pest management(IPM) and disease management programs permit the use of a combination of chemicals and biological or cultural control measures. Farmers are spraying less to get more. This could explain the declining demand in our country for many agricultural chemicals.

According to Spiro Stefanu, Professor of Agricultural Economics at Penn State, the more recent reported drop in farm chemical demand is largely attributed to the farm price situation.

Young farmers carry a heavy debt load, so they have to cut their expenses where they can. One of these areas is chemical applications.

In the past, farmers used heavy applications of pesticides to insure control. With the rising cost of agricultural chemicals, the cost of this insurance keeps going up. Often these costs get so high that the increased yields can't compensate for the additional money spent on pesticides.

Farmers who do cut back on pesticide application often are surprised to find their yields haven't suffered. But in other cases, damaging numbers of pests still cause significant yield losses. No one really knows exactly what pest populations are in a field. Only by thorough scouting procedures can a good estimate of pest populations be determined.